USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Biographical review; this volume contains biographical sketches of leading citizens of Franklin County, Massachusetts .. > Part 35
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tirely remodelled and fitted with modern conveniences, making it, with its well-graded, grass-covered lawn, one of the finest in the village. Mr. Cady also owns a valuable farm in the town of Ashfield; and on this he has some choice stock, being a great lover of fine horses and cattle, and taking pleasure in hav- ing them well cared for.
The marriage of Mr. Francis A. Cady and Miss Hattie Marie Graves, daughter of Eben- ezer and Persis R. (Whittiam) Graves, of Ashfield, took place on December 9, 1885. They have one child - a daughter - Frances Marie, the date of whose birth was June 29, 1887. Mrs. Cady, who is a woman of refine- ment and culture and an accomplished musi- cian, is held in high esteem by her large circle of warm friends; and the pleasant home over which she presides is an attractive social centre. She is an active and valued member of the Congregational church. (For ancestry see following sketch of Ebenezer Graves.) Mr. Cady is a man of great intelligence and capability, one who thinks for himself, per- fectly independent in politics, voting for measures most beneficial to the general pub- lic, and in religion is of the liberal type of believers.
BENEZER GRAVES, farmer, a well- known and esteemed resident of Ash- field, is the third in direct line who has borne this name in Franklin County. He was born in Charlemont, December II, 1830, son of Ebenezer and Nabby W. (Man- ter) Graves, who were married in 1821, and who moved to Ashfield in 1831. They were the parents of five children - a daughter, Harriet, who was born in 1827 and died in 1831, and four sons, the subject of this sketch being the only survivor. His brother Will- iam, born in 1823, died in 1849, and James,
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born in 1837, died in 1862, both unmarried; Addison, born September 25, 1833, died Jan- uary 15, 1867, leaving a wife, Helen M. Eaton Graves, and three sons - Charles B., a physician in New London, Conn., a gradu- ate of the Harvard Medical School, James M., and Addison - all now married.
Ebenezer Graves, second, was the eldest son of Ebenezer and Olive (Flint) Graves, who were married on February 13, 1794, by the Rev. Eliab Stone, in the North Parish of Reading, Middlesex County, Mass., their na- tive place. The wedding trip was a journey of several days on an ox sled, with their worldly effects, to Charlemont, Franklin County, where they arrived on February 21. They were doubtless welcomed to that far off western settlement by the family of an uncle, Josiah Upton, who had removed thither in 1778, and had died in 1791. But the new- comers soon had a home, and in a few years a family of their own, eight children being born to them; namely, Ebenezer, Olive, Eliza, Addison, Sally, Daniel, Mary, and Harriet. The father, Ebenezer Graves of Reading North Parish and Charlemont, was a son of Daniel and Sarah (Upton) Graves, brother of Captain Daniel Graves, and grand- son of Daniel and Martha (Coats) Graves, who removed to the North Parish of the old town of Reading from Lynn about the year 1727. The first Daniel was a great-grandson of Samuel Graves, a farmer and a man of means and influence, who settled in Lynn in 1630 or near that date.
It may here be mentioned in passing that there were others of this name who crossed the Atlantic in early Colonial times, and set- tled in different parts of the country. A genealogy of the various branches of the Graves family in America is now (1895) in course of preparation by General John Card
Graves, of Buffalo, N.Y., a gentleman of scholarly tastes and acquirements, and skilled in the art of research, who has devoted much time and money to this species of historic investigation.
Mrs. Sarah Upton Graves, wife of the scc- ond Danicl, was a daughter of Ebenezer and Sarah (Goodell) Upton, and was a descendant, in the fourth generation, of John Upton, the progenitor of the New England family of Uptons. (See "Upton Family Records," an elaboratc genealogical work, by Judge Will- iam H. Upton, of Walla Walla, Wash., great-grandson of Josiah Upton, above named.) Through his grandmother, Mrs. Olive Flint Graves, Mr. Ebenezer Graves of Ashfield may claim descent from two other early set- tlers of Massachusetts, among whose posterity have been numbered many distinguished names: Thomas Flint, of Salem, as early as 1650; and John Putnam, who with his three sons - Thomas, Nathaniel, and John - came from England, and settled in Salem in 1634.
Ebenezer Graves, second, died April 27, 1864. His wife, Nabby W., died December 26, 1878. Their son Ebenezer, named at the beginning of this brief record, married on December 31, 1855, Persis R. Whittiam, who was born in Leicester, October 15, 1830, daughter of Jeremiah and Diana (Doane) Whittiam. Her paternal grandparents were William and Hannah (Fitts) Whittiam, the former of whom came from Maine, and set- tled first in Oxford, Mass., where he married, later removing to Leicester; and her mater- nal grandparents were Reuben and Hannah (Slayton) Doane. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Graves are: Hattie M., born October II, 1856, now Mrs. Cady (see sketch of Francis A. Cady); and Dana L., born May 21, 1860, who married December 31, 1885, Florence Shaw. Dana L. Graves is a farmer
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in Ashfield. He and his wife have three children, as follows: Alonzo Shaw Graves, born March 22, 1887; Nelson Dana, born September 17, 1892; and Eliza, born October 4. 1894.
As noted above, the Graves family of Ash- field are of stanch New England stock, de- scendants of early settlers of the old Bay State. Industrious, upright, law - abiding, church-going people, in comfortable circum- stances, social, and hospitable, they well exemplify the sterling traits of their ances- tors. Mr. Ebenezer Graves has a pleasant home in a retired part of the town, the farm being under the efficient management of his son Dana L., he himself, more inclined to mercantile than to agricultural pursuits, hold- ing a position with Belding & Co., silk manu- facturers, as travelling salesman.
ONRAD H. GALE, a successful man- ufacturer and dealer in lumber, stands prominent among the rising young business men of Orange. He is a native of Franklin County, having been born May 14, 1864, in Warwick, son of Appleton and Mary E. (Conant) Gale. His great-great-grandpar- ents, David and Elizabeth Gale, who removed to Warwick from Sutton, Worcester County, were the parents of seven children; namely, David, Alpheus, Jesse, Huldah, Olive, Judy, and Mercy. David, second, son of David and Elizabeth, married Mary Eddy; and the fol - lowing children were the fruit of their union : John, Harvey, David, Levi, Horace, Elsie, Abigail, Rhoda, and Philana.
David Gale, third, grandfather of Conrad H., was a farmer, living and dying in War- wick, on the place where he was born, March 15, 1795. He fought in the War of 1812, and was a man of some note in the town,
which he served as Selectman. His wife, to whom he was united in October, 1818, was a native of Orange, Mass., born December I, 1799, just thirteen days before the death of Washington. Her maiden name was Augusta Goddard. They were married in Orange, and made their home in Warwick, becoming the parents of thirteen children, six of whom attained adult age; namely, John G., David, Appleton, William H., Charlotte, and Elvira. John G. was twice Representative in the legislature of the State, and held various important town offices for a number of years. William H. was also Representative, serving one year, and for years acted as a town official in various capacities.
Appleton Gale, third son of David and Augusta (Goddard) Gale, was born in War- wick, May 21, 1829. In his younger days he worked at boot and shoe making. Twenty-five years ago he purchased a saw-mill and grist- mill, and has been extensively engaged in the lumber business ever since. Always honest and upright in his business dealings, and tak- ing an active interest in the welfare of his town, he is a very popular man, and has been twice nominated for Representative, but, be- longing to the minority party, has failed at the polls. He was one of the foremost workers for the town hall in Warwick, doing all in his power to insure its erection. He married February 14, 1861, Mary E. Conant, who was born in Warwick, February 25, 1837, daughter of Josiah and Rhoda (Gale) Conant, and the following children blessed their union: Conrad H. ; Ernest A., deceased; Julia M. ; Abby R .; and David J., deceased.
Conrad H. Gale was educated in Warwick and Ashburnham, completing his studies at Cushing Academy. In the latter place he afterward began his career as an instructor of youth. He presided at the teacher's desk five
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years in all, his last position in that capacity being in the Northfield grammar school. In 1891 Mr. Gale purchased the Holden saw- mill and shop in Tully, and since that time has conducted a large and prosperous business. He has bought wood lots in different sections, and cleared them, manufacturing the timber into lumber, which he sells; and he also does a large amount of custom sawing. Recently he has engaged in the manufacture of wooden boxes, and he now expects to send out the greater part of the stock in his shop in the form of manufactured products instead of rough lumber. A man of his business enter- prise and progressive spirit necessarily occu- pies an influential position among the citizens of any community; and, although Mr. Gale is not active in politics, his business interests engrossing his entire attention, he has served one term of three years on the School Board, and has recently been elected to the same position for another term.
On August 20, 1889, Mr. Gale was united in marriage to Miss Irene E. Gibbs, a daugh- ter of Henry and Sophia (Temble) Gibbs. Henry Gibbs was born June 27, 1838. He is a son of William L .. and Elizabeth (Spear) Gibbs, and the grandson of Jesse and Abigail (Leonard) Gibbs, and comes of a race of prac- tical and progressive agriculturists. He is now a resident of the town of Orange, having bought the L. Ward farm in 1876, and is a well-to-do member of the farming community. In his younger days Mr. Gibbs learned the trade of painter; and, after following that a while, he carried on a successful grocery and bakery business in Orange for several years. He is a stanch member of the Republican party in polities. In Masonic circles he is prominent, being Master of Orange Lodge, A. F. & A. M. Mr. Gibbs was married Jan- uary 1, 1862, to the daughter of Isaac Temble,
who bore the following children: Jennie S., born October 3, 1862, who married Kirk E. Gilson, and has one child - Luetta S .; and Irene E., Mrs. Gale, born June 1, 1867, in Canaan, N.H. Mrs. Gale's parents removed to Orange when she was a young child; and in that town she received her education, grad- uating from the high school in 1886. She taught school for three years before her marriage.
Of the happy union of Mr. and Mrs. Gale two children have been born: Conrad David, whose birth occurred December 16, 1890; and Rena B., born June 25, 1894, whose earthly existence was very brief. Mr. Gale stands high in his town as a man of ability, enter- prise, and upright dealing. He is liberal in his religious views and prompt in the support of whatever, in his opinion, is calculated to advance the moral and material welfare of the community. Socially, Mr. Gale is a valued member of Harmony Lodge of Northfield, Mass., A. F. & A. M., and of Creseent Chap- ter of Orange.
HARLES W. HOSMER, clerk and paymaster of the Montague Paper Company, established at Turner's Falls, Franklin County, Mass., a well-known resident of this village, was born at Saxton's River, Vt., April 7, 1855. He is the son of Joseph B. Hosmer, born in the town of Gill, in this State, and grandson of Eldad Hosmer, a native of Vermont, who carried on the car- penter's and joiner's trade in connection with farming. Later Grandfather Hosmer removed to Gill, where in 1805 he purchased a farm, and built a house, in which he spent his last years.
Joseph B. Hosmer, his son, was brought up to the trade of woollen manufacturing, and
HENRY A. HOWARD.
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later took the position of superintendent in a woollen-mill at Saxton's River, which he held twenty years. His death occurred in that town, at the age of forty-six years. He was a Republican in politics, and firmly devoted to party principles. The maiden name of his wife was Lorintha Walker. She was one of seven children of Bliss Walker, and was born in Wardsboro, Vt., where her father, who was a farmer, lived and died. Her mother died in Wells. Me. Mrs. Hosmer spent her last years at Saxton's River, dying there at the age of forty-five years. She was a member of the Congregational church. The children of Joseph B. and Lorintha W. Hosmer were as follows: James E., who died at the age of nineteen; William. a druggist of Turner's Falls fifteen years, and later a resident of Clinton, Conn., where he died, at the age of thirty-six years; and Charles W., of Turner's Falls.
Charles W. Hosmer was but nine years old when his mother died, and was only eleven when his father also passed away. He then went to Factory Village in Greenfield, where he made his home with his father's sister, attending school during the winters until he was fourteen, when he went to Wells, Me., and lived three years with his mother's sister, still attending school. Returning now to Turner's Falls, Mr. Hosmer joined his brother in the drug business, in which he con- tinued about two years. For the last twenty years, or since 1875, he has been engaged as clerk and paymaster with the Montague Paper Company, an honorable record of fidelity and efficiency.
In January, 1876, Mr. Hosmer was married to Miss Sarah L. Miller, daughter of Justice Miller, of Waterford, Conn., where she was born, and where her father is still living and conducting a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Hosmer
are parents of four children, as follows: Flora L., who was graduated with honors from the Oakman High School, and is now a teacher in Turner's Falls; Joseph W .; Charles Irwin; and Charlotte L.
Mr. Hosmer is a Republican in politics. He has held the position of clerk of the Fire District three years, has been a member of the Board of Registrars of Voters two years, and was Assessor one year, being elected in 1877. Mr. Hosmer has also served for some years as one of the Selectmen of his town, and has been chairman of the Board since 1891. In 1876 he joined the Masons of Bay State Lodge, and in 1878 became charter member of Mechanics Lodge of Turner's Falls, of which, having held the preliminary offices, he is now Past Master. He is also treasurer of the Unitarian Society of Tur- ner's Falls, Mrs. Hosmer being a member. A man of much general intelligence and of good business capacity, Mr. Hosmer is a prominent resident of Turner's Falls, and with his family holds the respect of the com- munity with which he has been so long identified.
ENRY AUGUSTINE HOWARD, a prominent citizen of the town of Colerain, formerly in the boot and shoe business, now extensively and prosper- ously engaged in farming, is a native of Franklin County, having been born May 2, 1842, in Buckland. His paternal grand- father, Moses Childs Howard, was a well- known citizen of Colerain, following the trade of a tanner and shoemaker, and was also Deputy Sheriff of the county for many years. He settled here before his marriage, and was an industrious and hard-working man, but did not accumulate much property. He married Keziah Purrington, daughter of a pioneer of
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Colerain; and they reared a family of six children, of whom Sarah E., the wife of J. B. Clark, of Colerain, is the only one living. The deceased are: Emily A., Seth Childs, Henry A., Anna C., and Leonora A. The father was a Democrat in politics and a Uni- versalist in religion, while his wife was a member of the Baptist church.
Seth Childs Howard was born in 1822 in Colerain ; and he always claimed this town as home, although he lived in various places. He was a talented musician, one of the most skilful violinists of his day, and in the pur- suit of his art was connected at times with the leading theatres of the country, being often in New York City and in Boston during the theatrical season. He died at the early age of thirty-eight years, at Hornellsville, N. Y. His wife, Almina M. Barnard, was born September 15, 1821, in Shelburne Falls, where she now resides. Only one of their two children is now living; namely, Henry Augustine, the subject of the present sketch. His sister, Helen Marion, who was born in 1840, married Cordenio H. Merrill, of Shel- burne Falls. She died in 1893.
Henry A. Howard grew to manhood in Col- erain, making his home with his paternal grandfather, and obtaining his early education in the public schools, afterward attending a select school. On September 5, 1862, he en- listed in defence of his country, becoming a member of Company B, under Captain Alvah P. Nelson, Fifty-second Massachusetts Vol- unteer Infantry, and was engaged in the battle at Indian Bend and in the siege of Port Hud- son. At the expiration of his term of enlist- ment he was honorably discharged, August 14, 1863; and the following year he re-enlisted, joining the Second Massachusetts Light Artillery, under Captain Marlan, and after- ward being transferred to the Sixth Massachu-
setts Light Artillery, with whom he served until the close of the war, when he was again honorably discharged, in June, 1865. Re- turning to Colerain, Mr. Howard engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes at the old Howard homestead, formerly belonging to his paternal grandfather, and which was the first piece of real estate to come into his posses- sion. Here he remained for nine years, when he sold out, and removed into the village of Colerain, where he was engaged in the boot and shoe business for several years. In 1880 Mr. Howard moved to his present farm; and four years later he purchased the property, and has since devoted himself to dairying and general farming, paying special atten- tion to the raising of fruits. His farm con- tains two hundred and fifty acres of rich and productive land, and is improved by a com- fortable and commodious residence and con- venient buildings for successfully carrying on his enterprises.
On August 24, 1864, Mr. Howard was united in marriage with Helen M. Snow, of Colerain, a daughter of Asaph W. and Jane T. (Miller) Snow, both natives of Franklin County, Mr. Snow having been born in Heath, where he learned his trade of a car- penter and joiner, though in his later years he was a farmer; and Mrs. Snow was a native of Colerain. Mrs. Snow was a member of the Congregational church, and her husband was a Democrat in politics. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Snow seven grew to adult life, and four are living to-day, namely : Rob- ert M., of Greenfield; David W., of Colerain; Helen M., Mrs. Howard; and A. Leander, of Lafayette, Ga. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Howard has been blessed by the birth of three children, of whom we record the following: Clara C., born November 16, 1866, is the wife of Charles G. Fisk, of Springfield, and
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has two children - Margaret H. and Marcus H .; Dean C., born November II, 1870, was graduated from the Arms Academy at Shel- burne Falls, and is now a surgeon in the reg- ular army, located at Fort Snelling, Minn., where he married Myrtle Baldwin, of Toledo, Ohio; and James H .. born March 3, 1874, lives at home.
Mr. Howard is a steadfast and loyal Repub- lican, and is quite active in the management of local public affairs, has been Collector of Taxes nine consecutive years, for seven years was a member of the Board of Assessors, besides holding minor offices in the town, and at the present time is a member of the Board of Education. In 1894 Mr. Howard was chosen to represent the Fifth Franklin Dis- trict in the legislature. He is a regular attendant of the Congregational church, of which Mrs. Howard is a consistent member. Socially, he is a member of the Mountain Lodge of Shelburne Falls, A. F. & A. M., and also belongs to the H. S. Greenleaf Post, No. 20, of Colerain, Grand Army of the Re- public. Mr. Howard is likewise a member of the Deerfield Valley Agricultural Society, of which he was President for two years.
A portrait of this public-spirited citizen is happily included in the present collection of Franklin County worthies.
HILO T. LYONS, a well - to -do farmer, an expert machinist, and an engineer, living on a beautifully situated farm in the town of Orange, is a wide-awake, practical man of business and an esteemed resident of this section of Franklin County. The date of his birth, which oc- curred in Greenfield, Mass., was December 21, 1848. He comes from honored ancestry, his paternal grandfather, Dr. Joel Lyons, hav-
ing been one of the most noted and successful of the old-school physicians. He removed from Colerain to Gill, in this county, where he purchased a farm, on which his six sons - Alvin, Samuel, Joel, John, Benjamin, and Charles D .- were reared, and where he lived until an advanced age.
Charles D. Lyons, the father of him to whom we specially refer in this short narra- tive, was born in Gill in 1817, and was there educated. When a young man, he went to Greenfield, where he learned the cabinet- maker's trade, at which he worked for many years. Having a decided musical talent, and being very ambitious, he made a thorough study of music, being mostly self-taught, and became one of the most noted violin players of this part of Massachusetts and a successful teacher of music. He married Elizabeth Temple, who was born in Deerfield, a daugh- ter of Philo Temple, a farmer of that town, who there spent his threescore and ten years, being one of its most useful and respected citizens. Elizabeth was one of four daugh- ters born to him and his wife, the others bear- ing, respectively, the names of Frances, Angeline, and Eunice. Mrs. Elizabeth T. Lyons is still living in Greenfield, a widow now for several years, her husband having joined the silent majority when but sixty-six years of age. He was a man of sterling qual- ities, rich in the virtues that win love and respect. In politics he was a strong Repub- lican, and he and his wife held to that form of rational Christianity which has been termed Channing Unitarianism.
Philo T. Lyons acquired the elements of his education in the public schools of Green- field, afterward completing his studies at Powers Institute in Bernardston. He began the battle of life on the farm of his grand- father, which he worked for a few years. He
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had, however, a natural aptitude for the mechanical arts; and, in order that his talent might be developed, Mr. Lyons, on attaining his majority, went to Fitchburg, Mass., and for a while was employed in the railway repair shops. He was next engaged as a fire- man on the locomotive, and later as an engi- necr, in which capacity he was retained for nineteen years, being one of the most worthy and trusted employees of the company. To him was given the honor of running a train through the Hoosac Tunnel on the first day it was opened to the public; and he also assisted in celebrating that memorable day in Greenfield when the new railway was opened for traffic, running the first passenger train into that city.
Becoming tired of railroad life, Mr. Lyons resigned his position in September, 1891, and bought the T. Rice farm in Orange, contain- ing one hundred acres of land, finely located at the south end of North Pond, it being one of the pleasantest and most valuable estates in the locality. He remodelled the build- ings, and in 1892 came here to live; and, notwithstanding he has never married, he has one of the most comfortable and attractive homes to be found. He is constantly adding to the many improvements of the place, among other conveniences having a stationary engine, with which he saws wood, grinds feed, runs a turning lathe, a circular saw, etc. He is a practical agriculturist, and in the manage- ment of his farm he invariably finds his labors crowned with success. For the past three years Mr. Lyons has had charge of the pumps used in the Orange water-works, his former experience making him a most desirable pcr- son for this position. He has the courage of his convictions both in political and religious matters, being independent in the former, and very liberal in his interpretation of creeds
and dogmas. Socially, he is active and influ- ential in Masonic circles, belonging to the Greenfield Lodge, A. F. & A. M.
R OBERT M. COOMBS, one of the foremost farmers in Colerain, was born in this town on March 5, 1853, son of William and Sarah (McClellan) Coombs. His grandfather, Jonathan Coombs, was born on March 8, 1769. In early life he sold tinware in the Southern States; but later coming into possession of a farm in Colerain through his wife, Elizabeth McCrillis, he en- gaged in its cultivation up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1853. Elizabeth McCrillis was born on August 2, 1774, and was a member of one of the first families of Colerain, a race of well-to-do farmers. Of her union with Jonathan Coombs six children were born - three sons and three daughters - one of whom, Betsey E., widow of Smead Hillman, is living to-day, residing on the estate which was the birthplace of her brother William, the father of Robert.
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